MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – At least five Al-Shabaab suspects have been killed and several others injured in fighting with Somali military in Marka town, a military official confirmed Wednesday.
This week Somali army drove Al-Shabaab out of several suburbs of Marka town in Lower Shabelle region.
Speaking to the media, Capt. Ali Kheire Dhiblawe said Somali forces managed to repulse an attempted terror attack on DNA base.
The attack occurred on Tuesday in Obasiibo and El-Haji neighbourhoods.
According to Mr. Dhiblawe, an exchange of fierce fire ensued and lasted for one hour before Alshabaab were overpowered and fled to the dense Boni forest
“The attackers started by firing motor shells on the base before firefight broke out. The forces defeated Al-Shabaab fighters and managed to secure the area,” he said.
The captain confirmed the death of five Al-Shabaab suspects who were killed in the fighting.
“We saw five bodies of Al-Shabaab fighters who were killed in the attack. We suffered no casualties,” he stated.
The incident comes just three days after Somali military seized Al-Shabaab based in Marka town.
The villages the troops recapture are Lusiya, Obasibo, and El-Haji which are part of Marka town.
In 2016, Al-Shabaab fighters seized the town, which is situated 100 kilometers (60 miles)southwest of Mogadishu after troops from the Ugandan contingent of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) left.
Since then the group was controlling parts of the town which is one of the strategic ports in Southern Somalia
Marka is Somalia’s third-largest port after Mogadishu, 90km to the north, and Kismayo, which is more than 300km to the south.
In between Marka and Kismayo lies Barawe, the last major port which al Shabaab controlled before they were dislodged in October 2014.
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